November
Diamond world takes radical steps to stop price plunge
With prices in free fall around the globe, slowing demand and swelling inventory has prompted one-time monopoly De Beers to take unprecedented action.
- Thomas Biesheuvel
May
Siblings create sparkling brand from dad’s diamond business
The Whiting family are bringing rare antique diamonds to Australia to make fine jewellery. And it all started with their “mad for rocks” father.
- Lauren Sams
Tiffany’s tickled pink to be grabbing the world’s last Argyle diamonds
“This is truly once in a lifetime,” says the jeweller’s chief gemologist of the 35 sparklers acquired from the now-closed mine in the Kimberley.
- Lauren Sams
April
Burgundy Diamond Mines recuts $231m capital raising
Burgundy Diamond Mines has dialled back its underwritten placement from $US150 million ($231 million) to $US126 million ($193 million), as current owners of its Canadian M&A target Ekati decide to retain a 19.9 per cent stake.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
March
Burgundy Diamond Mines kicks off $231m acquisition raising
Michael O’Keefe, of Riversdale and Champion Iron fame, is back from roadshows for Burgundy Diamond Mines and ready to start collecting bids for the company’s $US150 million ($231 million) raising to help bankroll its acquisition of Canada’s Ekati diamond mine.
- Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Mining guru O’Keeffe seeks $231m equity for Burgundy Diamond play
Michael O’Keeffe, of Riversdale Mining and more recently Champion Iron fame, has unveiled an ambitious plan to create the largest ASX-listed diamond company.
- Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson and Kanika Sood
July 2022
- Exclusive
- Capital raising
‘Hero diamonds’ form basis of Tribeca’s new $50m fund
Jewellery scion Margot McKinney and Tribeca portfolio manager Ben Cleary have raised $50 million to turbocharge their new hard asset diamond fund.
- Jessica Sier
- Exclusive
- Life & Leisure
They bought a 910-carat diamond. Then they split it 82 ways
Van Cleef & Arpels’ latest high jewellery collection is focused on just one stone, the Lesotho Legend, which is the fifth-largest gem of its kind on record.
- Lauren Sams
June 2022
- Explainer
- Jewellery
Is buying a ‘real’ diamond a mug’s game?
With lab-grown diamonds being chemically, physically and optically identical to mined diamonds, what does it mean to buy a “real diamond” today?
- Campbell Kwan
April 2022
Burgundy bets on vertical integration in ultra-luxury diamonds play
The boss of the WA miner hopes jewellers will soon be selling diamonds mined, cut, polished and branded by the company to the rich for up to $10 million a pop.
- Michael Bennet
March 2022
Even the meerkats get the boot as consumers spurn brand Russia
Marketing experts say Russia’s international brand is on par with the Ebola virus, causing western consumers to rethink where they spend their money.
- Ronald Mizen and Tom McIlroy
November 2021
Mystery buyer pays $11m for royal bracelets
A pair of diamond bracelets that belonged to France’s Queen Marie Antoinette sold at auction on Tuesday for $11.09m, several times the pre-sale estimate, Christie’s said.
- Stephanie Nebehay
July 2021
New Australian technology tracks down gold thieves and blood diamonds
After years of catching gold and diamond thieves, geologist and chemical scientist John Watling is set to see his technology underpin global diamond provenance.
- Jessica Sier
May 2021
Rio cutting diamond mine closure deal with traditional owners
Rio Tinto is looking to make its exit from diamonds in WA as painless as possible for traditional owners who may receive compensation for underground mining infrastructure that can’t be safely removed.
- Brad Thompson
November 2020
Buyer of $36m pink diamond could still make a profit
Jewellery expert Benoit Repellin, who led the sale, said it set a record for a diamond graded fancy vivid purple pink sold at auction.
- Stephanie Nebehay
October 2020
- Exclusive
- Lunch with the AFR
'Some think I'm a left-wing loony': Cutifani's goal to remake mining
Loquacious Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifani traces his proselytising for a more people-centred industry back to a multicultural Wollongong childhood.
- Hans van Leeuwen
August 2020
Got a spare $900k? This rare diamond is up for grabs
The vivid-yellow gem is the centrepiece of a $5 million Sydney auction featuring jewellery from around the world.
- Dan F. Stapleton
February 2020
Mining's next frontier is the ocean floor
The world's largest mineral companies are already trying their luck underwater, but exploration is fraught, regulations aren't yet established and the cost of plundering the ocean is impossible to know.
- Wil Hylton
August 2019
Pink diamond set to test gem records
A 14.83-carat pink gem found eastern Russia is expected to fetch one of the highest prices ever for a diamond.
July 2019
Rio to continue in the diamond trade
The two mines in Rio's diamond business are scheduled to close by 2025 but Rio says that it will continue in the luxury good trade.
- Luke Housego
